Carl Tacy was a basketball coach who further extended and added to the rich tradition of the Wake Forest program.

"Gentleman Carl," as Tacy had become known during his career, compiled a 222-149 record at Wake Forest and led the team into postseason play in his final five seasons. Four of those years (1981-84), the Deacs won at least 20 games, with the 1984 squad's 23-9 mark setting a school record for victories in a single season.

That same team also gave Wake Forest basketball one of its finest moments when it defeated nationally ranked DePaul in overtime to advance to the NCAA Midwest Region finals. Tacy's 1977 club also reached the NCAA Elite Eight before losing to eventual champion Marquette.

Tacy is one of four WFU basketball coaches in the Sports Hall of Fame, joining Bones McKinney, who led Wake to its first two ACC titles in 1961 and 1962; Murray Greason, the school's all-time leader in wins with his 288-243 record from 1934 through 1957; and Dave Odom, who captured two ACC championships in 1995 and 1996.

A native of Huttonsville, W.Va., Tacy graduated from Davis & Elkins College in 1956. He coached 10 years on the high school level and compiled a 67-14 record in three years at Ferrum (Va.) Junior College.
After one season as an assistant coach at Marshall University, Tacy guided the Thundering Herd to a 23-4 mark and an NCAA appearance in 1972. He replaced Jack McCloskey as Wake Forest's head coach in April of 1972.

Carl Tacy was induced into the WFU Sports Hall of Fame on October 19, 1985.

Jim Duncan

Jim Duncan, one of only three players to earn All-Southern Conference football honors three times for Wake Forest, died Jan. 5, 2011 in Sunset Beach, N.C.

Duncan came to Wake Forest after an outstanding high school career in Reidsville, N.C. and a stint in the U.S. Navy. He spent 15 months in Okinawa during World War II. He lettered three years for Wake (1947-49) and was named the club's Most Valuable Player as a senior. He earned All-Southern Conference honors in each of his final three years.

Following graduation, Duncan continued his career as a linebacker for the New York Giants, serving as co-captain of that team along with Kyle Rote. He spent six seasons with the Giants before an injury ended his career. He later returned to Wake in 1956 as the first director of the Deacon Club, a position he held for three years.

In 1959, Duncan began a successful coaching career as an assistant at Appalachian State. He became head coach there one year later and led the Mountaineers to four winning seasons in five years.

Duncan then moved into the professional ranks in the Canadian Football League. He helped the Saskatchewan Roughriders win the Grey Cup in 1966 and became the head coach of the Calgary Stampeders in 1969, coaching the team to the league title in 1971.

Duncan returned to North Carolina in 1974 and began a career in sporting good sales. He became a Class "A" PGA Golf Professional and served as the head pro at Morehead City Country Club until his retirement.

Duncan also served as an administrator for the Portland Storm of the World Football League.

He was inducted into the Wake Forest Hall of Fame in 1985. He was also a member of the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame and the Appalachian State University Athletic Hall of Fame.

Dave Harris

Dave Harris was a standout end on the Deacon football team who earned All-Southern Conference and honorable mention All-America honors in 1944 and `45. As a senior, he helped the Deacs to their first postseason appearance in the inaugural Gator Bowl, played January 1, 1946.

The name of Dave Harris is best-known throughout North Carolina, however, regarding his brilliant career as a high school coach and athletic administrator in the Charlotte area. He taught, coached and served as athletic director at Harding High School for 21 years (1947-67), and led his teams to a pair of state titles.

Harris coached eight high school All-Americans and saw 73 of his young men receive college scholarships. In 1956, he was a head coach of the North Carolina squad in the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas.

In 1967, Harris gave up his active coaching duties to become director of athletics for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg County school system, a position he held at the time of his induction in 1985.

Harris is a past president of the N.C. Coaches Association, and has headed up numerous professional and civic groups around the state and in the Charlotte area. He has been named the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Sportsman of the Year, and in 1977 was recognized by the National High School Coaches Association as its Athletic Director of the Year.

Harris was inducted into the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame on Feb. 2, 1985.

He died on July 13, 2010 at age 85.

Linwood Holt

Linwood Holt was a three-time first-team All-ACC catcher for Wake Forest from 1954 to 1956 and is generally regarded as the catalyst behind the Wake Forest baseball team's rise to national prominence in 1955 when the Deacons captured the College World Series, the first NCAA crown in any sport for an ACC school.

A native of Graham, N.C., Holt was offered $6,000 to sign with the Cardinals out of high school. But he turned down the offer in order to attend Wake Forest. Four years later, Holt had been named an All-ACC catcher, led Wake Forest to a national championship in baseball, and earned a degree in business administration.

Holt led the ACC with a .352 batting average during Wake Forest's national championship campaign and earned a reputation as an outstanding handler of pitchers. He was named a first team All-American in 1955 by the American Baseball Coaches Association and Hickok Sports.

Holt's finest efforts, though, came during the national tournament, when he guided a youthful Deacon pitching staff through the playoff competition. And in the decisive national championship game victory, a 76 verdict over Western Michigan, he drove in the winning run in the eighth inning.

Holt's name appears frequently throughout the Wake Forest baseball record book. He hit .317 for his career and was three times an all-conference selection, in addition to his All-American season of 1955, his junior year.

In high school, Holt was so good that he spent four years on the varsity team at Alexander Wilson High near Burlington. He was twice named to the all-state team and was highly-sought after following his graduation.

"If I had to single out the individual who helped me most of all, it would be Jack Liptak," Holt told the Greensboro Daily News in 1956. "He was Wake Forest's regular catcher my freshman year. He made all-conference and knew everything about backstopping."

Following Liptak's graduation, Holt became the Deacons' starting catcher as a sophomore and hit .302 with six home runs in earning all-ACC honors.

Jack Lewis

Golf has provided many great moments in Wake Forest history. Jack Lewis was the fourth Deacon golfer to join the Hall of Fame.

Lewis attended Wake Forest from 1966-1969 and excelled throughout, but 1968 was probably the best year of his career.

At Wake, he won the individual championship and led the Deacs to the team title in the ACC tournament. In addition to earning All-America status that year, Lewis made the cut in the Masters (tied for 45th), the U.S. Open (60th) and the U.S. Amateur (seventh.)
He tied for third in the 1966 U.S. Amateur and was a member of the 1967 U.S. Walker Cup team. He also played in the 1967 Masters.
In 1968 and 1969, he was named a first-team All-American, becoming the first of many Wake golf greats to reach that pinnacle of success. Three of Lewis' teams captured ACC team championships (1967-1969).

Lewis is a two-time winner of the North Carolina Open, and in 1979 he finished second in the PGA National Club Pro Championship. The following year, he was named PGA Golfer of the Year in the club professional classification.

Jack Lewis was inducted into the Wake Forest University Sports Hall of Fame on February 2, 1985.